


First Winter

by spartanroses (babybrotherdean)



Category: God of War (Video Games)
Genre: Gen, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-03
Updated: 2018-07-03
Packaged: 2019-06-01 16:17:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 535
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15146981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/babybrotherdean/pseuds/spartanroses
Summary: He will not survive his first winter.





	First Winter

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first foray into writing for God of War, so... be gentle? I'm still trying to get a feel for the characters (I love them a bunch, but writing is hard). I've got a few ideas for little one-off things I want to try, so I might pop one of those out every now and again.
> 
> This is mostly just Kratos agonizing over... everything. I have a lot of Dad + Boy feelings.
> 
> ((I'm bad at titles bye))

_He will not survive his first winter._

The thought weighs heavy on Kratos every time he looks at his newborn son. Born too early and too small; it’s a miracle he’s made it even a few hours. Faye has yet to so much as set him down, insisting on sharing her body heat and watching over him in her every waking moment.

 _“I will not let him die, Kratos,”_  she had told him, bloodied and exhausted and clutching the infant to her chest. He looks even smaller in her arms, like a gust of wind would carry him away.  _“He must not die.”_

Quietly, Kratos is thankful. At least one of them can still hope.

Faye is asleep now. The sun has set, despite the early hour- a change he still has yet to grow accustomed to; so different from the long hours of daylight he remembers from home- and the cabin is lit in flickering shadows, a fire sitting low in the hearth to keep them warm. She rests in their bed, still holding their child to her chest, and for now, they both look peaceful. Serene.

It has been a very long time since Kratos has had a family, and looking at them now- it overwhelms him. Were Faye still awake, he might work harder to swallow it down, but with nobody to bear witness, he allows himself to fold inwards, sitting down hard on a chair by the bedside. His breath is unsteady, and he fights not to think about the horrors of his previous life, closing his eyes against the bandages that hide it away.

He knows better than to linger on the past. Faye has taught him that much.

Instead, he chooses to look ahead.

The boy is still tiny when Kratos opens his eyes. Still frail, with a pallor to his skin that makes him look sickly. He breathes in a steady rhythm, though, and he clings to his mother, and- and he is their son. Kratos’ son.

_Atreus._

His hand trembles when he reaches out, but the soft skin under his fingertips when he touches his boy’s cheek is enough to steady him. Enough to remind him that this is real; that nothing matters anymore except for the present. For the tiny family he has found himself, and that he will go to the ends of the Earth to protect.

He has made mistakes in the past. Countless mistakes. Catastrophic, apocalyptic mistakes. Nothing he does will ever right those wrongs, and that guilt will linger with him forever. But right here, right now-

Kratos has a fresh start. He has a wife who loves him, and a little boy who will survive. Who will grow up happy and safe and loved, as long as Kratos is alive to ensure it happens. He has a new home, and as clean a slate as he could ever hope to get, and he has the fresh start he never thought he deserved.

Atreus makes a small sound in his sleep and presses into Kratos’ touch. Something clenches hard in Kratos’ chest, and he fights to breathe through it.

Damn the rest of the world. He doesn’t need anything more than this.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! <3


End file.
